Planned marriage but immigration query

I'm in the very early stages of planning a marriage to my Japanese girlfriend. Our current idea is to get married withins days of my arrival in Japan from the UK.

I would be on a regular 90 day tourist visa I guess. My plan would be to remain in Japan after the marriage.

Questions

When I have had a holiday in Japan in the past, they always have checked to make sure I have a return ticket before clearing immigration etc. But this time ideally I wouldn't want to buy a return journey ticket as I intend to live with my spouse after we are married in Japan. Do I have to enter as though I'm just there on holiday, with a return ticket? I want to be straightforward and above board about my intentions. I intend to have an extra suitcase with me with personal belongings like several favourite DVD's Books etc, that would be hard to explain if I'm just there for a holiday! Though maybe there is a way I could have such a case shipped seperately?

Also does anyone have a list of the forms and documents I need to have? I dread arriving in Japan to realise a certain form is needed or a certain unforeseen charge needs to be paid!

Thanks in advance for any replies!

Pilgrim,

I don't think you will be able to get married "within days" of your arrival. Registering your marriage at the local city office requires proof that you are eligible to marry (i.e. are single), which is a form called the "Certificate of no impediment" that you obtain from the British Embassy in Tokyo. They will also translate it into Japanese for you. I believe this takes at least a week to obtain. I don't know if it is possible to obtain this form in the UK before you travel to Japan. Also, registering as an alien in Japan will also make the marriage registration process much smoother, and that also takes at least a week or so.
Presumably you realize that, as a UK citizen, you can stay up to 180 days as a temporary visitor by extending your visa, which gives you plenty of time to sort out your marriage arrangements without rushing.

As for your questions about what do/say at the airport if questioned by Immigration, I would suggest saying that you are entering for an extended vacation but haven't fixed your return date yet.

Check out the rates, a round-trip ticket may be even cheaper than one way, and it can make clearing immigration so much easier for you. You can book your return ticket for any day with the cheapest rate available and just not show up for the flight.

If you are planning to stay for a long time at a private address, you'd better not lie to Immigration about your travel purpose, just tell them honestly you are going to get married and apply for a change of status of residence.

To get married, you need to obtain a certificate of no impediment from the British Embassy in Tokyo, as Dave in Saitama said. However, you don't need to be registered as an alien to get married. You can get married and apply for your alien registration card in one visit to the City Hall.

Many airlines will not allow you to board the plane at the departure point if you do not have a ticket out of Japan or a visa allowing you to stay in Japan long term. Check the airline's policy on this before you risk showing up at the airport and not being allowed to board.

There are lots of ways to ship things internationally, an internet search should help you with options for where you are. Suitcases tend to be more expensive than boxes.